Return to the Begining
by Airezi
Summary: Talpa goes back in time for another chance to take over the mortal world. Now it's up to a Ronin that never existed to unite the grade schoolers.
1. Prolouge

OK, this is my first story, so please don't be too harsh. Hope you like it, but R&R anyways. Disclaimer: I don't own the Ronin Warriors (except Rye).  
  
Prologue: Time to Restart  
  
Kale turned back for one more look at the warriors. Ahead of him Sehkment, Dais and Kyra all paused to do the same. None of them could help by smile as they looked upon the recent victors. Talpa was gone and both the mortal world and netherealm were safe once more. Or so the warlords (and warlady) thought. But Talpa had controlled him for so many eons that Sehkment took no noticed as Talpa once more took over his mind.  
  
"The ronins will not defeat me, I am Talpa!" hissed the dictator as he viewed the celebrating ronins through his warlord's eyes. "I'll go back, back to before they had their armors. Then the mortal world shall be mine to command! Yes, that will do just fine." An evil grin appeared on Sehkments' face but was taken over by a look of discouragement. "I don't have enough energy to create another body," Talpa mused through his subordinates' mouth. "But maybe..." Talpa swiftly spread his control to the other warlords and prepared their power. Kyra noticed the warlords as they started to combine their powers.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked, but then she caught sight of the Sehkments' eyes. The pupils had shrunk to mere pinpoints, and the iris had turned a bright, glowing, demon red. "What's going on?" thought the warlady. Suddenly Talpa's evil laugh reached her ears. "No! He's still alive! But...how?" Kyra had no time to think, however, she knew that somehow she had to stop the warlords and break Talpa's hold on them. She straightened the Ancients' staff and started to call upon its power.  
  
"It is too late Kyra. You have run out of time! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Talpa's cry boomed out, startling the ronins below.  
  
"Talpa!" cried Ryo and Sage exclaimed,  
  
"What's he doing here?" But the blonde's question remained unanswered. At that moment the combined power of the warlords exploded, casting everyone into oblivion, with Talpa's hideous laughter following them. 


	2. Chapter 1 Decision

Chapter 1: Decision  
  
The sunlight filtered through the leaves of the forest, creating shafts of welcoming light. But to the little girl stumbling through the underbrush their welcome went unnoticed. Tear streaks stained her face and her bright blue eyes were downcast. "Mommy, (sniff) daddy," she whimpered, not bothering to wipe away the fresh tears that rolled down he cheeks. "I'm sorry. I wish you were still here."  
  
Her mind painfully shifted through images of a simple, outlying village. She and her parents had bee welcomed by an old monk dressed in a white robe and a cone shaped hat that hid his eyes. "Come Rye," he said turning and walking towards a small temple. Glancing back once more to her parents Rye reluctantly followed him.  
  
"Ohhh!" she breathed as she caught sight of the murals depicted on the walls of the temple. 9 warriors in multicolored armors fought against a mass of gray and green. "Warriors," she realized, looking closer. The mass was actually thousands of warriors. Above them, hundreds of misty colored spirits floated. But Rye forgot everything else when her eyes moved to the center of the picture. A being that dwarfed all the others stood there, and the little girl shivered involuntarily as she stared at him.  
  
"That is Talpa," the Ancient one stated. Rye stared at him, startled.  
  
"This Talpa must be terrible is the Ancient is afraid of him," she thought.  
  
"This battle was held one thousand years ago," the Ancient continued. "Those nine armors that you see should also have defeated Talpa again 10 years from now." Once again Rye stared at the Ancient, but this time she was puzzled. She had had no idea that the Ancient one could see into the future, but what Rye really didn't understand was why he was telling her this. But then the Ancient spoke again. "That, at least, was what should have been. Now, however..." His voice trailed off as he swung is staff over the battle scene. Rye threw up her arm to shield her eyes from the blinding light it created. But the flash was gone almost before it came. At first Rye thought that nothing had happened, than she peered again at the mural. The spirits were gone, and instead of 9 armors there were 10. "Now there is another armor," the Ancients' voice startled her as he resumed speaking, "One that never existed. An armor that will either save this world...or destroy it. All depending upon what you choose."  
  
Rye stopped walking and shook her head, trying in vain to stem the flow of memories. She didn't want to remember the screams as the dynasty soldiers had broken into the village and started demolishing it. She didn't want to remember how the villagers and her parents had gone out to stop the advancing forces--and failed. New tears welled up in her eyes but now she let them run, knowing she had to live through the battle once more...  
  
The ancient slammed the door of the temple, blocking out the battle before them. He pointed his staff at the door and it started to glow, just as the first soldiers slammed into it. The light flickered but the door remained solid while the minions continued pounding it. "You must decide," the Ancient commanded her. "Quickly."  
  
"What are you talking about? What's going to happen to my mom and dad?" Rye cried, staring fearfully back at him.  
  
"You must forget about your parents for now. If you do not hurry and decide their sacrifice will be in vain." Rye stopped her sobbing as it dawned on her what he'd just said so calmly. "It is no mistake you were chosen Rye," the Ancient continued quickly, but softly. "You are young, but you are strong enough to make the right choices. That is why, when you found the armor of extent, you did not give in to Talpa, but sought out this village. This time I am begging you to do the same child. Please, help to protect others in this mortal world from the same fate as your parents." Moist, blue eyes slowly raised themselves up to the Ancient's hidden face.  
  
"Tell me what I have to do."  
  
A twig snapped and brought Rye back to the present. The woods around her were silent, even the noisy crows were quiet. Rye stood frozen, all her senses keyed to the utmost. All of the sudden she heard something panting behind her, and felt warm breathe on the back of her neck. Slowly, slowly she turned to face whatever creature was stalking her. Eyes grew wide in horror saw a huge tiger silhouetted against the sun, with its wide-open mouth only a few inches from her face. "Uh-oh." 


	3. Chapter 2 Tiger, Tiger

Chapter 2: Tiger, Tiger  
  
Rye's eyes were open wide and she was sure her heart would never start beating again. "Rrroww," rumbled the tiger, from deep in his throat.  
  
"Huh?" Ryes' blue eyes blinked in confusion and her face grew puzzled. The sound was almost...almost...a purr? The tiger gave her a gentle nudge with his nose, and the rest of Rye's fear faded away. "White Blaze," she queried softly. The tiger jumped down from the rock and repeated his strange purr. "That's your name isn't it?" The tiger pushed his nose under Rye's arm so that her hand was now flat on his head. Laughing, she knelt and scratched the tiger's ears as she stared into his eyes. "White Blaze," she whispered softly again. Silently she kept scratching his ears, but Rye no longer saw the tiger, nor the shadowy woods surrounding them.  
  
Instead, skyscrapers, cars, and mounds of destruction enveloped her. On the street strode a young man dressed in a red sweater in jeans, while beside him padded a white tiger. The crowd on the sidewalk slowly moved in and encircled the pair, pausing their march down the road. The tiger growled and seemed about to attack, but the boy stuck his hand out and spoke calmly to him, "Easy White Blaze." Reluctantly the big cat relaxed and obeyed the command.  
  
More images started to unfold, but Rye stopped the play of memories and returned her attention to the woods. That scene was only one of the memories the Ancient had given her. She knew, and in some strange way remembered, every battle the Ronin Warriors and White Blaze had faced. Each memory was a clear as if she had been there herself, awing Rye with the Ancient's power.  
  
"These memories are more important even than your armor," she remembered him saying. "With them you can bring the Ronins back together and defeat Talpa. He no longer has his nether spirits to aid him and though they may seem unimportant it is still a blow to him. Use this against him, and bring the Ronins back together Rye...or Talpa will control this world."  
  
"I don't want to fight though," she sighed as she settled all the way to the ground.  
  
"Rooww?" Reaching up Rye resumed her scratching of White Blazes' ears, though more slowly than before.  
  
"I don't want to fight the dynasty, I...I'm afraid that I'll get hurt. All those warriors Talpa has, they'll all be trying to get rid of me." A small whimper worked its way out and fresh tears threatened to overflow in those bright, blue eyes. "What am I gonna do White Blaze? I'm too afraid to fight on my own, but I don't know where the others are. I don't even know if they'd help me!" Rye started to shake as she found back the sobs. White Blaze looked ready to give her a look that said, "deal with it" but he took pity on the youngster and instead gave her a soft nudge with his nose. Rye looked into the face of the white tiger and quickly wiped away her tears. Even if she couldn't find the other Ronins it look like White Blaze was going to giver her a hand. "Or a paw," she muttered to herself and then giggled quietly at her own joke.  
  
"What do you say? Will you help me?" The big cat was silent but Rye saw all the answer she needed in his gentle eyes. A smile crept across her face and the little girl gave the tiger as big a hug as she could manage. She had been alone for so long that she had nearly forgotten what it was like to have a friend. Rye sighed contentedly and for the first time in a long while noticed her surroundings. The sun was past its midpoint and the evening shadows were already starting to grow. Not far away Rye could hear a stream threading its way through the woods and she eagerly listened for the other sounds of the forest. But the running water was the only sound to be heard. Beside her, White Blaze tensed up and a low growl rumbled in his chest. Quickly she straightened and looked around to see what it was that had put the tiger on edge. Nothing moved in the woods surrounding her, causing the child to become even more frightened. Something just felt wrong.  
  
No worries, the rest of the Ronins will be along soon in case you're getting sick of Rye. Next chapter- Ryo?! 


	4. Chapter 3 Ryo!

Chapter 3: Ryo?!  
  
Suddenly, people were yelling and Rye could hear the distinct clank of swords. "Is it the dynasty?" she wondered, concentrating on deciphering what the yells were about. White Blaze growled and started to run toward the raised voices. "Wait for me!" she cried, running toward the great cat. When she reached his side she paused for a moment before calling out, "Tao Si!" Colors and lights flashed for a moment and when they died Rye stood there in black Ronin armor.  
  
For a moment the young girl couldn't move, the memories of what had happened before with her armor were too powerful. Then she took a deep breath, and clambered onto White Blazes back as he knelt down. In a matter of moments they reached a clearing, but Rye was yanked off of White Blaze's back. She ended up facedown in the dirt with a chain weapon wrapped around on of her wrists.  
  
"What's going on?" she wondered and yelped into surprise when she was yanked into the air. Rye blinked and stared stupidly at the solider for a bit before she snapped back to her senses. Immediately she started to struggle, twisting her captured wrist and kicking her short legs. The solider laughed and grabbed one of her armored boots.  
  
But that was just what Rye had been waiting for. She bent her knee to pull herself toward the minion, and jabbed her free hand through the tiny slit in his helmet. He screamed and released his hold so quickly that Rye crashed to the ground again. She swiftly freed her wrist, then focused on the battles before her. There were two of them in the clearing. One, straight ahead on the porch of the cottage Rye hadn't had time to notice, and the other about 10 ft to her right.  
  
White Blaze was there, tackling about 15 of the dynasty soldiers, but Rye couldn't see what the remaining ones were fighting. Three broke away, and headed toward Rye, weapons raised. When they left the rest of the group Rye caught a glimpse of their victim. It was only a flash, red armor, and blue eyes, but Rye was stunned. "One of the Ronins? I actually found one?!" she whispered.  
  
But there was no time to think it through, for the three soldiers were on her almost before she could draw her sword. The jeweled scimitar slid out easily, and Rye prepared to face her foes.  
  
The first time she had drawn the sword she thought how silly it was to put jewels not just on the hilt, but on the actual sword part as well. There were six in all, 3 on the hilt and the others evenly spaced across the blade. The handle was a smoky gray, almost matching the blade, and caused the multi-colored stones to stand out even more. Rye had figured out that they stood for fire (the red one closest to the point), air (transparent green in the middle), water (light blue nearest the hilt), rock (dark orange on both prongs of the hilt), and light (navy blue right under her hand).  
  
That combination of elements made up her armor and each jewel glowed and released a different color whenever she used her attack. So strange to use beautiful jewels on a weapon that would become covered in blood she had scowled before replacing the sword at her side.  
  
Now though, as she built up the power in her scimitar, she noticed that the red jewel, fire, grew even brighter than the rest. "No time to think about it," she told herself and fired at the Dynasty soldiers before her. "Time Transformation!" Colored lightning jumped from each jewel and combined into a crackling black orb that rushed the soldiers. Within seconds two of the warriors had turned into smoke and drifted away and the third quickly followed.  
  
"Got um," she celebrated before a roar broke her train of thought and Rye raced to help White Blaze dispatch the remaining bucket heads. She fought her way to the center of the group and found both White Blaze and the red armor there. Upon her arrival the dynasty minions became more cautious, for their numbers had decreased by quite a few since she and the white tiger had appeared.  
  
"Here's my chance," she thought before yelling to them, "Hey! Bucketheads!" All eight of the remaining soldiers fixed their eyes on her. "Well that got their attention, "she muttered to herself. "You know you can't win," she continued, "So go back and cry to your master. Go and tell him that Rye of Extent is back...and she's going to make him pay. Can you remember all that?" The soldiers simply narrowed their eyes and started to advance. "Well, they've got guts at least," Rye groaned to herself and then leapt at two of them. White Blaze took out three and spun to help the other warriors take out his second. The remaining bucket of bolts cast a quick glance around and then ran for his life.  
  
Panting tiredly, Rye watched him go and once she was positive he wasn't coming back she turned back to the red warrior. He was shaking with exhaustion and Rye could see that was the only reason he hadn't attacked her yet. His two swords were held up, ready for defense, and his clear, blue eyes never stopped watching her.  
  
"Who are you?" he demanded, trying to hide how tired he was.  
  
"My name's Rye, just like I told those bucketheads." Rye sheathed her sword to show that she wasn't going to attack him and gave herself a quick pep talk. "Might as well get it over with." Then aloud, "I've been looking for you Ryo" here the boys' face contorted in surprise, "I need your help."  
  
Ok, that's the end of chapter three. I just want to say sorry it took so long to type up and I want to thank Harry 2 for reviewing all my chapters so far. Later! 


	5. Chapter 4 What Next?

Chapter 4: What next?  
  
The armored seven year old glared hard at Rye. "In your dreams!"  
  
"What!?" Rye hadn't expected him to be enthused, but an outright turn down?  
  
"I'll never help the dynasty! So you can just leave now!" While he spoke Ryo straightened and connected his swords together, preparing to attack the girl before him.  
  
"Whoa, whoa whoa! Hang on a minute Wildfire! I'm on your side!" Rye exclaimed waving her empty hands, as she desperately hoped that he wouldn't spear her. Ryo didn't move though, but continued to stare at her uncertainly, not sure whether to trust her or not.  
  
"What do you think White Blaze?" he addressed to the tiger. "Do we trust her?" The tiger looked at him and, totally unconcerned, padded over to beg scratches from Extent. "Ok. If Blaze trusts you so do I." Ryo slid his swords smoothly back into their sheaths and extended his hand to Rye. "Truce?" Armors clinked as they hit each other,  
  
"Truce."  
  
"Ok, I think I got it now," Ryo said slowly, as he stared down at his feet. The two kids were perched on the edge of the porch, their legs hanging over the side while White Blaze snoozed on the grass in front of them. "So," Ryo continued, "All of this stuff, fighting Talpa and the dynasty, has happened before? And according to what this Ancient guy told you, me and four other guys defeated them using our armors. Did I get it all?"  
  
"Yeah," Rye said, shaking her head. "And then somehow Talpa sent the five of you back in time so he could try to beat you again."  
  
"Alright, I got that part, even if it is impossible. What I don't get is how come you're only in this time."  
  
"Don't know, the Ancient didn't get a chance to explain it."  
  
"What about the others, how do you expect to find them?"  
  
"Huh?" Rye hadn't told him that she had thought about looking for the other ronins, somehow he had guessed.  
  
"Well," he continued, "I mean together we beat Talpa before, why couldn't we do it again?"  
  
"Maybe..."  
  
"Come on, you saw how those bucketheads got scared when you showed up. 'sides, they attacked me for no good reason, if I hadn't had my armor I ain't sure what they woulda done to me. I don't want someone else to find out for me." Rye glanced over at her companion, and wasn't surprised to see a slightly scared look on his face. Then a question suddenly appeared to her,  
  
"Ryo... where are your parents?" Silence. Rye could tell that she'd hit a nerve and immediately a quiet "Sorry" escaped her. She hadn't told Ryo exactly what had happened to her parents, but surely he had guessed.  
  
"It's alright," Ryo told her, and silence resumed between the little warriors. "So," Ryo finally voiced, "Where do you think the others are?"  
  
"I ain't sure, but I'll bet if we find the dynasty, we'll find them."  
  
"Hope they got their armors figured out though, otherwise the dynasty soliders woulda just picked them up and carried 'em away."  
  
"Yeah, and with our luck they'd turn into warlords!" Rye laughed at her own joke before she realized Ryo was just looking at her puzzled. "Ooops!" she thought.  
  
"The warlords were those other guys with armor, right? But I thought you said they were on our side?"  
  
"Only after we beat Talpa though. I don't think they'll help us with Talpa still around."  
  
"Darn."  
  
Rye sighed and hopped to the ground. White Blaze raised his head and gave her a look that clearly asked what she was up to. With an indignant look back Rye answered the cat's unvoiced question. "I'm going to go find others and warn them about the Dynasty."  
  
"Wait up! I'm comin with you!" Rye looked back, surprised, as Ryo jumped down beside her. But she quickly recovered from the shock and objected.  
  
"No, you don't need to come with. You were probaly right when you said we could beat Talpa again, but all those battles...none of those guys were the same by the end. I don't want them to have to go through it again. I'm just going to warn them." Rye's speech came out sounding rehearsed—and it was. She had gone over again and again the noble way to tells the boys that they didn't have to fight. Ryo didn't fall for her act.  
  
"What about Talpa? Do you think that he's just going to disapeer?"  
  
"I thought...Man I don't know!"  
  
"Well, I'll come with you anyway."  
  
"You're going to help me?" Uncertainty all too apparent in the stressed voice of the blue eyed girl.  
  
"Sure! Why not? You did save me from the bucketheads, and aren't all those old people always telling us teamwork works? Or something like that." White Blaze gave a small roar in agreement as he got up to stand by the kids.  
  
"Ok then!" Rye yelled, clenching her small fists in excitement and smiling a huge smile. "Let's go!"  
  
"Yeah! Road Trip!" Rye blinked in confusion as Ryo gave a half smile. "Well, without the road." There was a two second pause and Rye burst out laughing as the trio took off into the woods. Maybe having company wouldn't be so bad after all.  
  
That's it for now. Next chapter- Ripples (can you guess who the next ronin is?) 


	6. Chapter 5 Ripples in the water

Chapter 5: Ripples in the water  
  
"So, where are we going anyway?" The two kids sat, perched, on White Blazes' back in their sub armor as the tiger loped through the underbrush.  
  
"I'm not really sure," replied Rye, looking about the forest. "The ancient said all the Ronins were near here somewhere, and this is the way that hunk of metal went." They rode in silence for a bit, both kids looking for something as they ran past the trees. Finally, Ryo couldn't stand it anymore and broke the silence,  
  
"Who do you think we'll find next?" A mystified Rye turned her head to look at him.  
  
"I don't know. Anyone of the four I guess."  
  
"Well what do you know?" asked Ryo a bit crossly. The sun was going down and getting in his eyes, and he really didn't like being quiet for long. Rye sighed as she faced forward again, squinting in the bright light.  
  
"I know that there are 5 Ronin warriors that defeated the demon Talpa but were sent back in time. So now, they have to get back together, learn to get along all over again, and beat Talpa again."  
  
"I wasn't really expecting an answer."  
  
"I know, but it's been an awfully quiet ride. Let's take a break, 'kay?" Ryo shook his head in ready agreement as White Blaze obediently slowed to a stop and allowed the mini warriors to slide down. Ryo just stood still for a moment, rubbing his sore legs (it was hard work sitting on a tiger!). White Blaze, though, had swung his head around and was staring off into the distance. Nothing happened, but the tiger suddenly took off without a sound.  
  
"Huh? White Blaze wait up!" Ryo cried as he stumbled after the tiger. Rye raced right behind him, but the two were quickly left behind. Still, they speeded after the tiger. One minute the darkness under the trees lightened a bit, and the next the full force of the setting sun blinded both pairs of blues eyes before small hands could create a shield.  
  
"Whoa!" screamed Ryes, as his feet were, quite suddenly, in midair. Something closed firmly on his armored wrist and he was jerked back up. White Blaze gently set the boy down a couple of feet from the edge of the cliff before looking at him disapprovingly.  
  
"Uhh!" grunted Rye as she pulled her legs back onto the rock. "That was a little too close for me!" Ryo, gasping, nodded in agreement. As soon as all of her was back on solid ground Rye scooted away from the edge and looked around. "Whoa!" The ocean gleamed 30ft below them and seemed to extend out forever. To the left of the kids, the cliff began to crumble away to a sandy beach bordered by the forest they had traversed earlier that day. "Oh neat!" the young girl breathed, trying to take in everything from the diving gulls, to the waves breaking on the rocks below. Ryo grimaced, a little queasy from the sudden drop, and instead turned to look at the beach.  
  
"Hey! There's a house down there!"  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Well, it's not really a house I guess," Ryo explained as he pointed to the small, weatherworn shack nestled on the edge of the woods. A few minutes later the two Ronins were walking on the beach about 20 feet from the rickety shack. "Do you think anyone lives there?" Ryo whispered.  
  
"I don't think so. It looks deserted."  
  
"Really deserted." Ryo began to look around nervously. "It's too quiet," he thought as the hair on the back of his neck prickled. Rye stood just in front of him, nothing but her eyes moving. The only sound was the surf crashing on the shore, and then the waves were interrupted.  
  
"Run!" yelled a voice choked with water. "It's a trap! Go!" Both warriors spun around to see a redheaded boy in blue sub armor stumble out of the frothy seawater. Ryo and Rye just stared, perplexed for a moment, and then an entire unit of dynasty soldiers rose out of the waves.  
  
"Ahhh!" They screamed and almost fell over each other in their haste to run away. The redhead had caught up the two of them and all three kids bolted for the cliffs. But just before they reached them a cracking sound broke the air, followed by another new voice.  
  
"Leave me alone you walking garbage cans!"  
  
"I forgot Kento!" the new boy yelped, stopping so abruptly that Ryo and Rye crashed into him. "Hang on Kento! I'm coming!" he yelled to his friend as the trio fought to get free of one another. Behind them, the tattered shacked had collapsed, but the 4 dynasty soldiers inside easily picked themselves from the rubble. Unfortunately, the 7 or 8 year old boy with them was having a bit more trouble, mainly because one solider held a rope that bound his wrists.  
  
"No you don't!" yelled his friend, once he'd detangled himself from the other kids. He hit the beach running and full armor appeared moments before he jumped between his friend and the minions.  
  
"Cut it a little close, didn't you Cye?" Kento gasped.  
  
"Hey! I got here didn't I?"  
  
"Look out!" Rye yelled to the two as they squabbled. She and Ryo were all armored up as they joined their new partners. The soldiers had begun to form a circle around the two boys, but they were all too happy to shove the new arrivals into the middle too.  
  
"Uh-Oh," the kids chorused.  
  
Ok, I know it's been a while, but I've got almost all of this story written up and I just have to type it. I also went back and fixed the other chapter so that I hope they're easier to read. 


	7. Chapter 6 Three down, two to go

Chapter 6: Three down, two to go  
  
"White Blaze, why couldn't you have brought a friend with you?" Kento panted as Ryo and Cye pulled him up the last bit of the cliffside.  
  
"Because (pant) then we would've (pant) had two tigers to feed. Ugh!" Rye gasped out as she lay nearby, resting after the tough climb. The four of them and White Blaze had been traveling all morning and everyone was cranky. Once Kento had armored up last night and White Blaze had joined them, the kids had easily disposed of the soldiers. And Rye's sword had glown with a strange brown and blue light. "I'll betcha it shows when there's a Ronin around." Rye had said as they camped out on the beach that night. Rye and Ryo explained to the others what was going on. Kento and Cye said that they'd be glad to help. But Kento made the other three promise to let him have breakfast first. So, the next morning, they'd dug through the ruins of the shack, found some food, and set off happily to find the last two Ronins. That had been a long time ago now, and the mood was a little bit different.  
  
"My feet hurt," Kento whined as they trudged over the rocks.  
  
"My feet hurt, and I'm thirsty," Cye spoke out.  
  
"Well, my feet hurt and I'm thirsty and I'm hot," Ryo added sullenly. There was silence for a few moments, except for a few small rocks cascading down the cliff.  
  
"Let's just stop somewhere," Rye groaned, sick of listening to the boys whine. Weren't they supposed to be all tough and macho? She thought to herself. Anyway, her feet hurt to since all four of them couldn't fit on White Blaze and so they'd been walking the whole way.  
  
"Here," Cye's voice echoed from below them. The others raced forward a few stops and saw the little shelter under two rocks. Cye peered up at them from the shadows, "It's much cooler in the shade. Come on down." Rye, Kento, and Ryo quickly slid down to join him while White Blaze gazed down at them curiously.  
  
"Sorry Blaze," Ryo said to him, "but you'll have to stay up there. Not enough room." The blue eyed tiger snorted in disgust and wandered off to find his own shade.  
  
"Ooh! The rocks are nice and cool!" Rye squealed happily as she sank to the ground, ready 4 hours ago for a break. Ryo and Sage followed her example, settling themselves down and staring out at the little patch of sky. Kento, however, had a bit of a problem. Grumbeling about everyone else hogging all the good spots (he couldn't see outside no matter where he sat) Kento scrambled to the opposite side of the cave so he could glare at the boys and Rye. Kento locked in his sour face and still grumbling, leaned back...into thin air.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whooaah!" Kento sputtered as he fell backwards, scrabbling helplessly at the loose shale. His friends watched, stunned, but suddenly all they could see of Kento were his armored feet.  
  
"Kento!" cried Ryo and Cye as they leaped forward to stop him. Unfortunately, they had a little too much momentum, and instead of stopping their sliding buddy, the 2 kids managed to push him further down the slope.  
  
"Aahhh!" three panicked voices screamed as they gained speed and plummeted downward.  
  
"Guys? Kento? Cye? Ryo? Are you guys ok?" Rye stared down into the black abyss that had swallowed her friends. She had figured that Ryo and Cye would have been able to pull Kento up, but they'd suddenly started sliding too. Now, Rye was starting to get worried. None of the boys had answered her, and she couldn't hear the sliding of rocks and armor anymore. "Come on you guys this isn't funny anymore!" 


	8. Chapter 7 Shining Sword

Chapter 7: Shining Sword

"Come on Kento, get up." Kento moaned and tried to ignore the persistent voice. After all, it was interrupting his dream of thanksgiving dinner. "Grrr!" came the voice again while hands rolled Kento over.

"Ok, ok." Hardrock muttered as he opened his eyes. Confused, he blinked and rubbed the sleep out of them, then blinked again. "Ahh!" he screamed, "I'm blind!"

"No you're not," Cye voice echoed in the darkness. "There's just no light down here."

"Oh…yeah." A reddish glow grew out of the blackness, and the 2 boys looked at it eagerly.

"Thanks Ryo."

"Sure thing," the Ronin of fire replied. "I don't exactly like sitting in the dark either."

"Just how are we going to get out of here?" Kento asked, looking up the rock chute that they had slid down.

"Well I don't think we'll be crawling up _that, _" Cye said as he joined Kento. Ryo nodded and turned to the opposite side of the cavern.

"I guess we'll just have to follow this tunnel then and hope we can find a way out so we can get back to Rye and White Blaze."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Kento announced, "I forgot that they were still up there. Humph. It's not fair that we have to get all bruised up an Rye doesn't." Kento continued muttering to no one in particular as the boys trudged down the tunnel lit only by the weak glow of Ryo's armor.

Hours later even Kento stumbled through the darkened tunnel silently. The boys had no idea where the tunnel led, but they didn't really have anywhere else to go. The glow of Ryo's armor was slowly fading and the little warriors were often tripping from lack of light as well as exhaustion.

"Hey," Cye's voice echoed slightly in the dark. "What's that up there?" Ryo and Kento looked in the direction Cye pointed, hoping to see a way out. A small shaft of light came from around a corner and the excited boys yelled and raced forward. The light was so bright though after the darkness of the tunnels that they could barely keep their eyes open. In an instant, shapes that had hidden in the shadows came out and silently crept, unnoticed, up to the blinded boys. Ryo's eyes were slowly adjusting to the light and he started to make out a dim shadow coming toward him. He had just enough time to wonder what it was when his vision went black again and he tumbled to the rocky ground.

A lone pebble bounced down the steep slope of the cliff, the only sound besides the wind blowing gently through the pines. When the pebble reached the bottom and rolled to a stop Rye threw another one after it. White Blaze opened one eye before sighing and going back to sleep. The Ronin of time was still at a loss of what to do about her disappeared friends, and the tiger had been absently listening to her throw pebbles down the hill for at least half an hour.

"Do I go and find them Blaze? Or do I go find Sage and Rowen?" Rye didn't even look at the big cat as she spoke, and instead searched for another rock. Watching it bounce off down the cliff the young girl wished, once again, that she had never discovered her armor.

"Enough moping around!" her blue eyes flashed angrily as Rye jumped up. "I'm going to find them and then I'll never have to deal with Talpa ever again." White blaze blinked in surprise to see such a determined warrior before him. Rye saw the tiger's surprised look out of the corner of her eye and looked at him indignantly.

"So you think I couldn't act like a grown-up Blaze? You figured that I'd just sit here and whine about it? Well I won't! Those boys need someone to make them grow up and think about someone other than themself. Now, Tao Si!" Rye transformed into her armor and drew her sword as White Blaze leaped up, roaring in excitement.

"Let's go White Blaze!" Rye said aloud, but inside her heart shook. " I just wish I weren't so scared." She thought. A small whimper escaped the small girl as she hurriedly wiped the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Rrrww?" White Blaze swung his head towards Rye, completely bewildered by the sudden change. Then, with a soft sigh the giant tiger paced over to the shaking child, nuzzling her gently with his nose. Rye slowly settled down as she stroked the tiger's head.

"Ok Blaze," she said quietly. "Let's go." Picking up her dropped scimitar the pair prepared to leave just as Rye's sword started to hum. "What?" Rye stared at it, stumped, just as light poured from each of the jewels embedded in it. "Wow! That's bright!" she muttered. "Hey! The blue one and green never glowed before. What's the deal?" Puzzled, she continued to stare at the weapon as the light dimmed. "Maybe Ryo's right and it lights up whenever the other Ronins are together. So that means… Blaze lets go! Sage and Rowen are with the others!"


	9. Chapter 8 Talpas' Domain

Chapter 8: Talpas' Domain

"Stop moving or they'll hear you!"

"I can't help it, my nose itches!" Ryo blinked a few times, trying to make out where he was in the dim light.

"Well use your foot then!" the urgent whispering continued.

"This armor isn't exactly made to let me do that!"

"Kento?" Ryo asked as he suddenly recognized the complaining voice. Light filled the small room and Ryo blinked again as he located the source as a boy in dark green armor right across from him.

"Ryo you're all right!" The black haired boys swiveled his head toward the noise and spotted Kento and Cye beside him. In the soft glow he also spotted another boy across from his two companions. His dark blue armor and hair hid him well within the shadows of the tunnel.

"Hi ya."

"Um…hi?" Ryo answered, a little confused. It didn't look like they were still in the tunnel, it looked more like a room made out of stone. He reached up to push the hair out of his eyes and quickly discovered that there were chains binding his wrists. Ryo stared stupidly at the chains for a while, it wasn't a room made of stone—it was a cell! "Where are we?"

Kento grumbled, "Last thing I remember we were almost out, then I got blinded by some stupid light and wake up here. I'm still seeing those weird spots you get." Cye sighed at Kento's remark before turning to Ryo.

"Sage and Rowen say that we're in Talpa's dungeon." Cye motioned his head toward the two new boys. "I guess they've been here for a while."

"You know guys," Rowen said (at least Ryo _thought_ it was Rowen), "it's great to meet you, but…umm…who's going to get us out now? Me and Sage have been hoping that you guys would come get us out after we heard the guards talking about these three other Ronins they had to capture."

"Oh, don't worry 'bout it," Ryo said. "Rye'll come save us."

"Rye? Who's he, the guards only talked about the three of you?" Sage asked the bearer of wildfire.

"_She's_ one of us. Talpa really wasn't expecting her."

"She?"

"Yes, _she_"

"We're counting on a _girl_ to save us!" Rowen exclaimed.

"Don't let Rye hear you say that," muttered Kento.


	10. Chapter 9 Enterance to the Dynasty

Chapter 9: Entrance to the dynasty

Rye's determination was quickly wearing away. After her sword quit glowing (_That was weird, _she thought) Rye headed to the bottom of the cliff to see if she could find the boys. Sliding down the rocks they had climbed up this morning was fun for the first two seconds, and then she'd lost control and ended up with a ton of bruises and dust scratching her eyes.

"At least that part's done," Rye grumbled when she finally reached the bottom. Before the Ronin of time had come down she'd planned on trying to find a tunnel that might lead her to the boys, but now she felt too battered to go anywhere. "And I didn't even get a break yet 'cause those stupid boys had to get themselves lost!" she complained to no one in particular.

Grumpily she kicked at a rock with her armored toe. "Oww!" she yelped. "Stupid rock," Rye pouted as she sat down to examine her toe.

Suddenly White Blaze rumbled out a growl and bounded down from his perch to crouch low on the ground next to Rye. "Grrrwww"

"Huh? What's up Blaze?" Following the tigers' intense gaze Rye gasped in fear and pressed herself hard into the shadows behind the rocks. Her eyes were wide with fear and all she could do was breath in short gasps. Hundreds of dynasty soldiers were marching straight at them! Too scared to do anything else, Rye lay on the ground shaking and whimpering in fear as the earth shook with the approaching footsteps.

But when nearly a minute passed without any soldiers attacking her, Rye cautiously peeked between her fingers—and quickly covered her eyes again. Only a couple of feet from her quivering fingers marched the minions of the dynasty. The setting sun glinted brightly off their armor, but that same sun made shadows that rendered her armor near to invisible.

The ground still rumbled from the stomping of armored feet, running right through Rye's armor and chattering her teeth. Terrified that someone would hear the little girl clamped them shut and continued staring at the marching soldiers.

_Hand on,_ she thought to herself, _They're walking right into the cliff!_ But as she whipped her head around to stare at the cliff she realized it wasn't quite the same incline she had come down a while ago. A part of it had just disappeared, leaving and rectangular shaped opening that was a perfect fit for the marching columns. Rye gaped openmouthed, slowly grasping that she had just found the tunnel that would lead her to the boys. "Only one problem," she muttered," I don't think Talpa wants me to come in his front door."

"40 bottles of pop on the wall, 40 bottles of pop. You take one down pass it around…"

"And it's time for you to shut up!" The other 3 boys sighed in relief when Rowen slightly mean ending to the song finally ended Kentos' singing.

"If you can call that singing," Ryo muttered to himself.

"That wasn't very nice Rowen." Cye informed him.

"Well _sorry,_ but I've had enough of that screeching he calls music."

"Hey! I'm a good singer!" Kento informed him as he rose to his feet. Or tried to. "Whoa!" Hardrock yelped as the chains pulled him back to the floor and had him looking upside down at the other boys.

"Good move!" Sage laughed and the other boys broke into giggles too, with Ryo even falling to the floor because he laughed to hard.

A shadow loomed up in the doorway and the argument was cut short as all 5 boys looked at the door. The dynasty solider guarding them glared in through the small grill on the door, silently ordering them to quit arguing. Finally he returned to his post and the boys relaxed.

"He doesn't care when Kento sings, but when we start laughing he looks ready to kill us." Cye muttered to the others.

"What wrong with my singing anyways?" Kento asked his friends. "Guys?" No one answered him; the other four were lost in their own thoughts once again. _Rye better get here soon,_ he thought,_ I'm hungry._

Thump! Thump! Thump! The booted feet of the marching soldiers kept falling and Rye had nearly fallen asleep listening to the sound. There seemed an endless number of the low ranking soldiers and if she was going to go in and rescue the boys she couldn't exactly do it with all these bucket heads after her. White Blaze had slowly inched himself deeper into the safe shadows when he and Rye heard something besides armored feet on the ground—voices.

"I don't get paid enough to do this!"

"We don't get paid at all dummy!" 5 horses came striding behind the soldiers, and two of the armored riders were the ones the hidden ronin had heard speak.

_I wonder if those are those warlords the ancient told me 'bout._ Rye thought silently, then gulped as she saw the weapons they carried. _This guys seem a little scarier than those bucket heads. Why does that one guy need that many swords? _

Meanwhile Kale and Anubis continued their argument as they followed a grimacing Kyra and Dais through the rock entry. Rye watched them with cautious blue eyes. She had planned on sneaking in right behind the soldiers, but those warlords were far more dangerous than all those bucket heads put together, she didn't want to get any closer to them than she had to. But apparently the stone door had other ideas, and began to close immediately after the warlords passed. White Blaze and Rye both jumped from their hiding places and raced toward the swiftly closing door.

"Hang on Blaze!" Rye commanded when she saw him beside her. Desperately she hauled on his furry shoulders, trying to pull the giant tiger away from the door. "You're too big, someone's bound to see you, and then we'll both get caught." Rumbleling deep in his throat the tiger grudgingly backed up a step. "Keep an eye out to make sure they don't take the boys somewhere else." White Blaze growled in acknowledgement, watching the little ronin slip under the lowering opening, before he settled into the shadows to guard the entrance.

Torches lit the path, but after the bright sun outside it took Rye's eyes a moment to adjust. As soon as she could see the little ronin started down the hallway, hoping that the warlords were far enough way to not notice her. Rye peered cautiously around each corner, and stumbled onto a fork in the tunnel in the dim light.

"Great," she muttered. "Now which way do I go?" Her eyes wandered along each tunnel before she spotted some strange markings scratched on one of the walls. Confused, she sidled closer and her face split into a huge grin. "How nice of them to give me directions." She smiled impishly. "And even with labels for what each room is." Still smiling she found what she wanted on the map and purposely set off down the tunnel.


	11. Chapter 10 Breakout

Chapter 10: Breakout

"Okay, I see something gray."

"The wall! We've done that one already!"

"Well you try to find something else in here to spy. In case you didn't notice there's not too much to look at!" Kento shot back at Ryo. Here he was, just trying to make being stuck in a cell a little more fun and none of the other guys would even try. _Fine, I'll just amuse myself then and let them be bored _he thought

"Hey, you can't be bored with this stupid cell already. Sage and I have been here a lot longer than you." Rowen snapped.

"That doesn't mean I can't be bored. And it's not my fault those stupid dynasty soldiers caught you right away." Kento retorted, sticking his tongue out at the blue haired boy. Promptly Rowen stuck out his own tongue and crossed his eyes, and a full fledged face fight commenced until both were almost too dizzy from looking cross eyed to even sit up.

"Ahh, come on you guys stop it." Cye pleaded. Both shot him an angry look and the timid boy closed his mouth and swallowed nervously.

"Come over here and say that!" Kento challenged as he stood up in anger. Except the wearer of the armor of Hardrock had forgotten his chains and tumbled backwards, kicking a rock that ricocheted off of Ryo's armor.

"Hey!" Wildfire yelped, kicking it back more forcefully than necessary and actually hitting Kento with his armored feet.

"You can't do that to me!" an angry Kento growled back. In moments all the boys lay on the floor at the edge of their chains, scrabbling to dent any part of their companions that they could reach. Luckily they had been chained far enough apart to prevent any serious injury from one another and all five boys were soon quiet again. They all lay, panting on the cool floor of the cell, when the small square of light from the door went dark.

Sage, laying with his feet away from the door craned his neck backward to look, expecting to see a dynasty solider come to quiet them down. But instead he found himself looking into the upside down face of another kid. "She doesn't look like a dynasty solider," mumbled the blond.

"Well I'd make a better solider than those metal brains Talpa left to guard you guys."

Three heads whipped toward the door, and three eager voices echoed off the walls, "Rye!"

"Yep," chattered the small girl as she released her grip on the window and dropped to the floor to open the cell door and let in more flickering torchlight. "The cavalry has arrived—complete with keys! You guys wouldn't believe how easy Talpa made it to find things in here. Maps, keys with labels, these bucket heads must be even stupider than I thought." The heavy door swung open slowly and Rye slipped in to free the boys from their shackles. "I followed a ton in and not one of them even thought about looking to see if they were being followed," Rye shook her head as she knelt down to unlock Ryo's chains, muttering, "bolt heads."

"Well what did you expect?" Ryo inquired, rubbing his now free wrist.

"Me next! Me next!" Kento commanded. Rye rolled her eyes, then began to unlock the impatient orange warrior. Ryo brushed of his armor then look at Sage and Rowen with a mocking grin.

"What do you think of a girl saving us now?"

"Well…uh…" Rowen stuttered out but Rye interrupted him with an outraged voice.

"You didn't think a girl could save you?" She accused the bewildered child.

"No! That's not what I said! Well it was, but what I meant was…was…" came the sputtered reply before an embarrassed Rowen gave up and just sat staring at the floor, his cheeks burning.

"Boys," Extent grumbled, turning back to Kento's chains. Not long after all the boys but Rowen were free and keeping a careful eye on the door for any passing soldiers. Rye stood in front of Strata, twirling the keys around her finger and fixing him with a cold stare. Rowen looked up at her, still embarrassed by his outburst but he finally worked up the courage to speak.

"Can you please free me?" Rye's glare disappeared immediately and she stepped over to the last ronin.

"Fine, but you better rethink your opinion of girls."

"Come on kidses!" Kento motioned the little band out into the dim hallway as soon as Rowens' shackles hit the rock floor. "_Uh oh_," the blue hair boy said to himself, realizing he had no clue where to go! Unperturbed, the mini macho man strode off down the hallway, the other boys following him.

"Ummm, where are you going?" Rye's voice reached the boys ears. All five looked over their shoulders to see an amused Extent pointed in the opposite direction. "This is the way out."

"I know that!" Kento retaliated. "I was just…I was getting everyone out of your way!" Rye gave Kento a 'yeah right' look before heading off down the tunnel, the other warriors falling into step behind her with an embarrassed Kento bringing up the rear.

"Company Halt!" Cale's young voice boomed off the rock walls. "Attention!" The column of dynasty soldiers moved in perfect sync to their superiors' commands.

"_Not bad_." Talpa thought to himself. "_But such low level warriors are no use to me._" Aloud the demon addressed the warlord as an annoyed parent would their child. "Time to quit fooling around Cale, you can play commander later. The ronin warriors have been in that cell long enough to soften them up a bit, and I want each of you to 'talk' to them for me."

"Talking boss?"

"Yes, a little persuasive talk."

"Oooh! Oooh!" Sehkment yelped, jumping up and down excitedly, spoiling the adult look his armor gave him. "I want to help! I want to help!"

"Me too! Me too!" came a chorus from the other armor bearers.

Talpa mussed to himself, "_Children_," groaning silently then continuing aloud. "Fine, you can all help Cale."

"Goody!"

"Yes, goody…" Talpa's evil laugh reverberated through the chamber, but not a whisper made it down the tunnels to the escaping Ronins ears.


	12. Chapter 11 On the Road Again

Chapter 11: On the Road Again

"Bubble gum, bubble gum?"

"Icca bicca soda cracker?"

"Boy scout, boy scout?"

"What are you guys doing? Just give me a minute to look at the map!" Five Ronins blinked in surprise as they turned towards Rye. They had just reached an intersection of the tunnels when Rye had said that she couldn't remember which way was out. So the boys had started to take matters into their own hands and use a 'fair' way to choose which way to go, happy to finally be able to do something on their own.

"There's a map?" Ryo asked.

"Yeah," Rye said, a little taken aback and looking at him with surprise. "How do you think I found you guys? Sheer dumb luck?"

"Well…um…" Ryo's response faded off in embarrassment as he remembered her mentioning maps earlier.

"Come on." Rye said, once again rolling her blue eyes at the boys in slight disgust as the little group set off down the tunnels again.

"What do you mean they're not there!" Whirlwinds crashed around the chamber as Talpa screamed at his cowering warlords and Kyra.

"Well, you see…" Kyra began to explain.

"Silence!" All five underlings cringed at the powerful command. "I want you all to go back down there." Talpa's voice was quieter now, but the malice dripping from each word was even worse than the booming yelling. "Then I want you to talk to the Ronin warriors, just like I told you. And if, for some impossible reason they are not there, then I do not want to see any of you until they are. Do you understand!" Quick nods of agreement answered the colossal leader. "Then what are you still doing here?" Get!" With that bellow of command Talpa literally blew the warlords from his chamber and on their way to the dungeons.

Thump, thump, thump, thump. The footsteps of the dynasty minions echoed through the hall, even when the entire platoon had passed around a corner.

"Are they gone?" Kento whispered.

"Think so," Cye replied as he stuck his head cautiously into the hall. All six of the kids were crammed into a storage closet, trying to escape notice by the soldiers.

"Well, let's get out of here then." Kento ordered and gave Cye a shove in the right direction.

"Oww! Watch it!" the red head yelped angrily, not like his normal self with the stress of escape weighing down on him. When the kids had first escaped there had been almost no soldiers roaming the corridors, but now….

"There's a patrol like every two minutes!" Rowen exclaimed "At this rate we'll run out of broom closets."

"We'd better go fast then." Rye countered as she jumped down off the shelf she had scrambled up on when it became apparent that the floor of the closet wasn't going to be quite big enough to fit six kids in armor.

"Hang on, I'm coming." Came the muffled words of Ryo. He was trying to squirm off another shelf, stuck behind a heavy box and some extra shelving leaning against his perch. Sage reached over and tugged hard on his boots, hauling wildfire out from his stuck position and sending both boys crashing into the other side of the closet.

"Shhhh!!" Rye and Rowen hissed to them.

"Sorry." Murmured a slightly battered Ryo "But couldn't Talpa make a bigger broom closet? Huh? I mean he's got an entire mountain to work with!" And with that statement Ryo stomped out into the hallway, a slightly amused group following on his heals.

"What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?" Sehkment howled in fear.

"Calm down!" Anubis snapped at him. "We'll find them."

"And how do you propose to do that, oh lordly one?" Kyra chided him.

"Why by following the chocolate finger prints my dearie."

"Chocolate?" Dais's voice echoed strangely in the twilight like darkness. Anubis nodded his head yes.

"Hershey's or generic?"

"Hershey's, and no almonds Dais."

"Mmmm, chocolate…."

"There's a door." Whispered a childs voice

"Let's get out of here then!" replied another

"Wait! There have to be guards or something!"

"Why do there always have to be guards?"

"Cause Talpa's not quite that stupid."

"How do you know?"

"Cause he's not!"

"Don't fight you two!" a third voice interrupted.

"She started it!"

"Did not!"

"Guys!"

"Come on! Let's get out of here, I don't see any guards." Rowen's voice stopped the argument as he motioned the others toward where he had been scoping out the door.

"Told ya!" Kento said snottily.

"Blehh!" Rye stuck her tongue out at him before following Rowen and the others towards the open door.

"You should have saved that 'I told you so' for later little brat!" Cale spoke as he stepped in front of the door.

"Shoot!" Sage muttered under his breath, glaring at the warlord.

"Come on, we can take him!" Ryo said defiantly, balling up his fist in preparation.

"You? Take on me? In your dreams kid!"

"Now Cale," Kyra's voice floated to the Ronins ears. "Don't hog all of the fun for yourself!" She joined Cale in the doorway, smirking at the trapped ronin warriors. "We've got a little surprise for you young warriors," She giggled evilly and motioned behind her with a hand. A moment of still silence passed, and with an annoyed grimace Kyra glanced over her shoulder and said through clenched teeth, "That's your cue!"

"Hang on! This things heavy!" Anubis' voice drifted in, sounding a bit short of breath.

"You're ruining my entrance!" pouted Kyra as Anubis and Sehkment appeared shadowed in the doorway.

"Grrrooooowwwlll!"

"White Blaze!" Rye cried. The poor tiger was tied up by his feet, though judging by the dust on his coat he had put up a terrific fight before being bound. Somehow the warlords had managed to hobble his front and back paws, then shoved a pole between his front paws and dragging his back end behind them had hauled him to the entrance over the rocky terrain.

"Ahh," came a satisfied voice from behind the kids. "You are the one with the chocolate."

Kento yelped as he spun around to the glowing eye of Dais. The little version of Hardrock quivered under the unblinking stare. "Ch…ch..cho..chocolate?" he finally managed to stutter out.

"I want it," hissed the one eyed man, leaning closer with a frantic look in his still unblinking eye.

"K..k..ok" whimpered the little boy as the warlord grinned to show his rotten teeth and stepped forward to claim his prize.


	13. Chapter 12 The Chocolate Effect

Chapter 12: The chocolate effect

The ronin warriors huddled mere feet from escape, but four warlords had barricaded them in. And the fifth warlord…. "Chocolate…" breathed Dais.

"You had chocolate this whole time!" Ryo yelped at Kento, "And you didn't share!"

"You never asked!" Hardrock whined back.

"Give me the chocolate!" roared Dais.

"Maybe you'd better give it too him," Sage whimpered as the ronins cringed at the booming voice echoing off the stone walls. Kento was terrified of Dais with his single eye that had turned red in his frenzy, but the orange armored warrior still paused before regretfully digging out his half eaten bar of chocolate. Quicker than lightning Dais snatched the crumpled candy from the boy and devoured it; wrapper and all.

"Mmmm," he drooled contentedly, staring placidly into empty space while the taste lingered on his tongue.

"Kyra! Anubis!" Talpa's voiced roared out of the shadows. "Where are my ronin warriors?"

"We've got them Master!" Anubis replied excitedly.

"Good. Then I will come and deal with them personally, you will not have a chance to fail me again!"

"Ha! You're in for it now." Sehkment mocked the warriors.

"I think we should get out of here," Sage whispered to the others.

"You think?" Ryo snapped, but then looked ashamed and continued a bit softer. "But how?"

"I don't know!" The frantic scheming was interrupted as a new shadowy presence entered the tunnel. Talpa had arrived.

"Ah! How nice, we finally have all the ronin warriors together." Then the demon lord spotted Rye, and for a moment a look of surprise came on his face, but it was quickly replaced with his usual stone mask expression. "Well, it looks like Rye has decided to join us, that's strange." Here, Talpa shifted his stare to Cale. "I had some reports that you were killed along with your parents."

"Well I sure don't feel dead." Retorted the young girl, only a slight quiver of fear in her voice as she looked at the leader of the netherealm in defiance.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll feel that way soon enough."

"Hee, hee, ha ,hee." Psychotic cackling began to resonant off the walls, interrupting the threats. Confused, everyone (warlords, Ronins and evil leader included) tried to pinpoint the source of the cackles. What they found was Dais.

"Hee, hee. Choc…o…late..want…more…must have…more!" the fierce fighter managed to say before he broke back out into the psychotic laughter.

"No!" Talpa said to himself before yelling in anger at the other warlords. "Which one of you let him have chocolate?!" But the minions never got a chance to respond—Dais had completely lost it.

"Chocolate!" he screamed and blasted the walls. "These are the good ones, yes." He bubbled, shoving handfuls of the pebbles he had broken off into his mouth. "Yes, the chocolate bites with caramel inside. Good! And these," he continued, oblivious that he was chewing on rocks as he looked at the ceiling, "There is one of those chocolate brownies with the frosting inside. Yum! I want it." Calmly Dais pointed his charging weapon at the ceiling.

"Let's get out of here!" screamed Rye, sensing the danger, and all six Ronins stampeded for the blocked door. Only it wasn't blocked anymore. Terrified of their psycho companion the other warlords had decided it was a good idea to leave before he collapsed the roof on them.

"I'd always thought Dais was the calm one!" Rowen yelled as they ran.

"Guess not when he's had chocolate!" Ryo returned.

"Out of my way Ronins!" Talpa commanded them as he bolted for the door.

"Chocolate!" Dais screamed again, just as he blasted the ceiling and sent rocks flying everywhere. The Ronin warriors were thrown forward from the force of the blast, and crashed into the fleeing warlords; creating a nice tangle of arms and legs.

Talpa wasn't so lucky. "Get me out of here!" came a muffled command. The evil lord of the dynasty was half buried under the cavern roof, and somehow during the blast he had been flipped upside down so the half that was buried contained his head, while his feet were free of the rubble and waving in the air. As the Ronins recovered from the shock, the warlords and Kyra quickly freed their leader. His pride injured Talpa grumpily started dusting off his armor when the grind of rock on rock reached his ears. Dais appeared out of the rubble, battered, and with his back to them.

"Hi Dais." Cale called nervously to him after a moment. "Are you ok?" Slowly the old warrior turned around and answered, fixing his eye on Cale.

"Yum…chocolate fudge."

"Shoot! What's he see now?" Cale questioned, twisting his head around to look.

"I think he's talking about you." Anubis told him worriedly.

"Uh oh"

"Hee, hee, chocolate!"


	14. Chapter 13 The End of the New Begining

**Chapter 13: End to the New Beginning**

"Hee hee, chocolate"

"No! Don't eat me!" Cale yelped, diving behind his master.

"What are you doing?" Talpa demanded.

"Chocolate!" Dais screamed and charged the demon lord.

"Aaahhhh!" Screamed the powerful dynasty leader and his minions as they tore away from the crazed warlord. With Anubis (who had been hiding in the back) having a head start on the others.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed halting mid-run, a 10 foot drop to the rocks and sea below filling the gap between his armored toes. "Whew," he thought, "that was close." Then Anubis glanced over his shoulder and a cartoon moment occurred. Kyra slammed into Anubis, Sehkment into her, and Cale into him, but somehow they all managed to stay firmly on solid ground. Then Talpa caught up, and with a domino effect knocked everyone into the waiting sea.

"Chocolate!" screamed Dais once more as he blasted the spot the demon lords had just vacated, causing a cascade of rocks to tumble after the evil leaders of the dynasty.

Coughing, the Ronins tried desperately to see what had happened, falling over with laughter when the dust cleared. Dais slept contentedly, right on the edge of the cliff, sucking his thumb, completely tuckered out.

"That was interesting." Rye said, making an attempt at being serious.

"That was great!" Kento laughed, starting up everyone else's giggle fits again.

"We escaped Talpa and all we had to do was run for our lives!" Ryo chortled.

"Come on," Rowen managed to say when he finally caught his breath. "I don't think he's going anywhere. And I don't care enough to go swimming and see what happened to Talpa."

"Don't worry about it Rowen," Rye said, glancing at Kento with an evil grin. "I'm sure if Talpa's ok he's going to want to get back at the person who gave Dais the chocolate."

"Sage told me to!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

The other 4 Ronins groaned as they got up and left Sage and Kento arguing.

"Kids," White Blaze thought to himself as he bit through the rest of the ropes binding him. "They leave a tiger hanging while they start fighting!" With another growling sigh the big cat padded after the 4 that were, at the very least, being quiet.

EPILOGUE:

"You know, I'm really not a fan of the dark."

"Quit being a baby Sehkment."

"I'm older than you Anubis!" The warlord of venom shot back. The three warlords, Kyra and Talpa had been swept by the waves into a cavern full of chest deep water, and Dais' blast attack had sealed the entrance outward with rock debris.

"I want to get out of here, this place is ruining my hair!" Kyra whined.

"I'm surrounded by idiots, Talpa mused.

"Umm, guys? I have a little problem." Sehkment spoke uncertainly.

"What?" Cale snapped, peering through the dark in the direction of Sehkments' voice.

"I have to pee."

"Don't you dare!" Kyra told him, causing Sehkment to whimper.

"This water feels a little bit warmer…" came from Anubis

"Ewww!" chorused the warriors as they rushed away from warlord of venom.

"What?" Sehkment asked innocently.

_Ok, that's all folks! Please review if you haven't already, I love to hear what people think of my stories. And check out some of my others if you've got time. Happy reading!  
_


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